Scientifically Supported Practices in EBD: A Proposed Approach and Brief Review of Current Practices

Both No Child Left Behind and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act require educators to use research-validated practices in classrooms. And yet education, special education, and the field of emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) continue to show large gaps in the consistent use of best practices. The authors propose that the research-to-practice gap can be traced to the lack of clear, consistent criteria to determine what are research-based practices and the absence of support structures to assist educators in implementing such practices. A four-phase review process was developed based on current recommendations from the E/BD literature, and a brief review of classroom-based strategies was conducted. Four practices were identified as being research based. The authors discuss each of these practices and call for the field of special education, and E/BD in particular, to develop and adopt a universal set of standards to determine research-based practice and look to school systems to support their use.

This website was developed under a grant from the US Department of Education, #H326S130004. However, the contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the US Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. Project Officer, Renee Bradley. Please cite as: OSEP Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (2017). Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports [Website]. Retrieved from www.pbis.org.

IDEAs that Work - U.S. Office of Special Education Programs

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